Method and apparatus for forming engineered stone

ABSTRACT

A compression device, means for controlling the compression device, a drum having an inner chamber, means for rotating the drum, and first and second delivery devices for delivering first and second materials into the inner chamber of the drum while the drum is rotating. The compression device compresses the first and second material in the inner chamber of the drum while the drum is rotating about the center of the drum in response to the means for controlling the compression device. The apparatus may include a stirring device; and a means for controlling the stirring device; wherein the stirring device is configured with respect to the drum so that the stirring device can be moved up and down to a desired depth within the drum and rotates within the inner chamber of the drum to stir the first and second materials in the drum while the drum is rotating.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is a continuation of and claims the priority ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/398,518, titled: “METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR FORMING ENGINEERED STONE”, filed on Apr. 30, 2019, whichis a continuation of and claims the priority of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/225,520, titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING ENGINEEREDSTONE”, filed on Aug. 1, 2016, which has issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,358,390, issue date Jul. 23, 2019, which is a divisional of andclaims the priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/059,034,titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING ENGINEERED STONE”, filed onMar. 2, 2016, which has issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,427,896, issue dateAug. 30, 2016; and the present application claims the priority of all ofSer. Nos. 16/398,518; 15/225,520; and Ser. No. 15/059,034.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to improved methods and apparatus concerningforming engineered stone.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust and isone of the hardest naturally occurring materials. One application is inthe formation of “engineered stone”, a composite material made ofparticulate material such as stone, quartz, glass, shells or siliconmixed with polymer resins, dyes, binders, etc. or any combination ofsuch. The particulate material(s) and polymer resins, binders,colorants, dyes, etc. may be poured into a supporting mold, tray orother supporting structure. The mold or tray containing the mixture isthen moved into a vacuum press machine to compress the material. Thecompressed material is then placed into a curing machine to be heatedinto a hardened quartz slab. After curing, the slab is generally movedto a grinder to be grinded down to a desired thickness, followed by apolisher to finish the product.

Engineered stone, including quartz, has become a common surfacing andcountertop choice throughout the world. Applications include kitchen andbath countertops, tables and desktops, floor tile, food service areas,wall cladding, and various other horizontal and vertical applications.Quartz based engineered stone has many advantages over natural stonesuch as marble and granite; it is harder, more durable and less waterabsorbent than natural stone, and is more resistant to staining,scratching, heat and chemicals. One main disadvantage to engineeredstone is its lack of random color patterns and veining found in naturalstone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One or more embodiments of the present invention address a method,apparatus, and system of producing a quartz based slab with colorpatterns and veining similar to natural stone. In at least oneembodiment, a composite material is mixed which may include or mayconsist of particulate stone, quartz, glass, shells or silicon mixedwith polymer resins, dyes, binders, hardeners, initiators or combinationof such. This damp composite material is fed into a blending drumthrough one of multiple feeder channels. Each channel feeds a differentcomposite material into the blending drum. The composite material canvary based on a number of factors such as particle size or dyes used.The blending drum is a cylindrical container with open top and an exithole in the center of the bottom (can be located at any point on thebottom). Prior to feeding composite material into the drum, acylindrical plug is lowered over the exit hole in order to preventmaterial from leaking out during the following process. The blendingdrum rotates while the channel moves along the radius of the drumdepositing material. A multiple pronged stirring apparatus is loweredand rotates as material is being deposited, resulting in an even layerof material in the drum. Based on the desired design aesthetic, multiplelayers of different or alternating composite material can be added tothe drum in this fashion from different feeder channels.

In at least one embodiment, a conical frustum apparatus is used tocompress the layered composite material. The conical frustum is alignedsuch that the surface of the conical frustum apparatus is perpendicularto the axis of rotation of the drum. The inner and outer diameter of theconical frustum apparatus is specified based on the radius of the drumand each ends distance away from the axis of rotation. This allows forthere to be no slip between the conical frustum and the compositematerial at any point of contact. In addition, the length of theapparatus is set so that the inner and outer ends of the conical frustumare specified distances away from the inner and outer ends of the drum.The pressure that the apparatus exerts on the composite material can bedriven by a variety of mechanisms (hydraulically, mechanically,electrically, etc), and the pressure can by adjusted. As the drumrotates, the friction between the composite material and the conicalfrustum apparatus causes the conical frustum to rotate along its axis.The stirring apparatus is then lowered into the drum at a specifieddistance away from the drums axis of rotation. It is lowered into thecomposite material and rotates at a specified speed in order to blendthe compressed material. The rotational speed of the stirring apparatusdetermines to what degree the layers of composite material are blended.This is used to determine the degree and size of marbleization in thefinal product. This action blends the layers of different compositematerial, creating random marbleization. In order to maintain thisspecific marbleized configuration within the composite material thecomposite material is compressed again by the conical frustum. Afterthis process is complete, the plug is lifted and the marbleized materialis pushed through the exit hole in the center of the drum and is placedin a mold for further processing.

In an alternate embodiment, a power hammer apparatus can be used inplace of the conical frustum. The power hammer apparatus raises andlowers as the blending drum rotates in order to compress the compositematerial.

In at least one embodiment, an apparatus is provided comprising acompression device, means for controlling the compression device, a drumhaving an inner chamber, means for rotating the drum, and a firstdelivery device for delivering a first material into the inner chamberof the drum while the drum is rotating about a center of the drum. Thecompression device may be configured with respect to the drum so thatthe compression device compresses the first material in the innerchamber of the drum while the drum is rotating about the center of thedrum in response to the means for controlling the compression device.The means for controlling the compression device may include a computerprocessor, computer memory, computer display, and computer interactivedevice, such as a computer mouse and/or keyboard for allowing control ofthe compression device by a user and/or by a computer.

The apparatus may further include a stirring device, and a means forcontrolling the stirring device. The stirring device may be configuredwith respect to the drum so that the stirring device can be moved up anddown to a desired depth within the drum and rotates within the innerchamber of the drum to stir the first material in the inner chamber ofthe drum while the drum is rotating about the center of the drum inresponse to the means for controlling the stirring device. The means forcontrolling the stirring device may include a computer processor,computer memory, computer display, and computer interactive device, suchas a computer mouse and/or keyboard for allowing control of the stirringdevice by a user and/or by a computer.

The compression device may include a conical frustum having a flatlateral outer surface connected to an axle. The conical frustum mayrotate about its axis on the axle and may compress the first material inthe inner chamber of the drum while the drum is rotating about thecenter of the drum in response to the means for controlling thecompression device.

The apparatus may further include a support structure which isconfigured to lower the conical frustum into the inner chamber of thedrum in order to compress the first material. The support structure mayinclude a first piston connected to first end of the axle and a secondpiston connected to a second end of the axle. The first piston and thesecond piston may be controlled in order to lower the conical frustuminto the inner chamber of the drum in order to compress the firstmaterial. The first and second pistons may be controlled by means suchas a computer processor, computer memory, computer display, and computerinteractive device, such as a computer mouse and/or keyboard, forallowing control of the first and second piston by a user and/or by acomputer.

The apparatus may be further comprised of a means for controlling thefirst piston and second piston to control how much pressure is appliedby the lateral outer surface of the conical frustum on the firstmaterial to compress the first material in the inner chamber of thedrum. The conical frustum may have a circular upper base and a circularlower base, wherein the circular upper base has a smaller diameter thanthe circular lower base. The conical frustum may have a circumferentialsurface; and the conical frustum may be arranged with respect to thecenter of the drum so that the circular upper base is closer to thecenter of the drum than the circular lower base; and the circumferentialsurface of the conical frustum is parallel to the axis of rotation ofthe drum. The conical frustum may be designed so that the ratio betweenany cross sectional circumference of the conical frustum taken along itslength and its corresponding circular travel path along the drum isconstant.

In at least one embodiment, the compression device may include a powerhammer device. The power hammer device may include a piston. The pistonmay be connected to a fan shaped compression plate. The power hammerdevice may include means for controlling the pounding force of the powerhammer device in order to compress the first material. The means forcontrolling the pounding force of the power hammer device and/or thepower hammer device in general may include a computer processor,computer memory, computer display, and computer interactive device, suchas a computer mouse and/or keyboard for allowing control of the powerhammer device by a user and/or computer.

The apparatus, in at least one embodiment may include a second deliverydevice for delivering a second material into the inner chamber of thedrum while the drum is rotating about the center of the drum. Thecompression device may be configured with respect to the drum so thatthe compression device compresses the first and the second materialtogether in the inner chamber of the drum while the drum is rotatingabout the center of the drum in response to the means for controllingthe compression device.

In at least one embodiment a method is provided including layeringdifferent or alternating types of composite material in an inner chamberof an open top compartment to form a layered composite material,compressing the layered composite material in the inner chamber of theopen top compartment to form a layered compressed composite material,stirring the layered compressed composite material in the inner chamberof the open top compartment in order to break the layered compressedcomposite material into different sized fragments and develop amarbleized pattern forming a fragmented composite marbleized material,and compressing the fragmented composite marbleized material in order tofurther reinforce the marbleized pattern within the fragmented compositemarbleized material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows front and top perspective view of an apparatus for use inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a front view of part of the apparatus of FIG. 1 during afirst stage;

FIG. 3 shows a front view of part of the apparatus of FIG. 1 during asecond stage;

FIG. 4 shows a front view of part of the apparatus of FIG. 1 during athird stage and during a fifth stage;

FIG. 5 shows a front cutout view of part of the apparatus of FIG. 1during a fourth stage;

FIG. 6 shows a front view of part of the apparatus of FIG. 1 during asixth stage; and

FIG. 7 shows a front and top perspective view of another apparatus withan alternate compression device shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows perspective view of an apparatus 1 for use in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 1 includesdelivery devices or channels 2 and 4, stirring device 6, shovel device8, plug device 10, frame device 12, conical frustum device 14, andblending drum 16.

The delivery device 2 has an opening 2 c, a body section 2 b, and anopening 2 a. The openings 2 c and 2 a may be circular and the opening 2c may be substantially larger than the opening 2 a. Similarly, thedelivery device 4 has an opening 4 c, a body section 4 b, and an opening4 a. The openings 4 c and 4 a may be circular and the opening 4 c may besubstantially larger than the opening 4 a.

The stirring device 6 may have a main member 6 a, and L-shaped members 6b, 6 c, 6 d, and 6 e, which are attached to and/or integrated with mainmember 6 a.

The shovel device 8 may have a main L-shaped member 8 a. The members 8 band 8 c may be attached and/or integrated with the L-shaped member 8 a.The plates 8 d and 8 e may be fixed and/or integrated with the members 8b and 8 c.

The device 10 may have a circular solid cylinder portion 10 a, fixedand/or integrated with a cylinder portion 10 b. The device 12 acts as aframe for the conical frustum 14 and may have members 12 a, 12 b, 12 c,12 d, 12 e, and axle 12 f. The conical frustum 14 may be mounted to theaxle 12 f to allow the conical frustum 14 to rotate around the axle 12f.

FIG. 2 shows a front view of part of the apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 during afirst stage. In the first stage or step, composite material has not yetbeen fed into the blending drum 16 through the opening 16 a from thedelivery devices 2 and 4. In addition, the devices 6, 8, and 10 areraised above the chamber 16 b of the blending drum 16, and the majorityof the device or conical frustum 14 is above the chamber 16 b of theblending drum 16 FIG. 2 also shows the location of the exit hole 16 c.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of part of the apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 during asecond stage. The components shown in FIG. 2 are in the same position inFIG. 3, except as will be described. In the second stage or step shownin FIG. 3, the device 10 has been lowered so that the portion 10 b isinsider the inner chamber 16 b of the blending drum 16, blocking exithole 16 c. In addition the device 6 has been lowered into the innerchamber 16 b of the blending drum 16. The device 6 is positioned so thatthe bottom of members 6 b, 6 c, 6 d and 6 e is level with the desiredfinal height of the layer of composite material that is addedsimultaneously by device 2 and/or 4. The delivery device 2 moves backand forth in directions D1 and D2 along the radius of the blending drum16 as composite material 20 is being added. Note that composite material20 may also be added in by delivery device 4, which also would move backand forth in directions D1 and D2. This material from delivery device 4may be added either simultaneously or after the material from deliverydevice 2 is deposited. Also, in one or more embodiments, a differentcomposite material 20 is added in by delivery device 2 versus deliverydevice 4. In addition, the stirring device 6 rotates in the directionD3, and the blending drum 16 rotates in the direction D4. This combinedmovement allows for an even layer of composite material 20 to be addedinto blending drum 16, further referred to as layered composite material20 in FIG. 4. This stage may be repeated multiple times in order toobtain multiple level layers of different composite material 20 inblending drum 16.

FIG. 4 shows a front view of part of the apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 during athird stage. The components shown in FIG. 3 are in the same position inFIG. 4, except that in FIG. 4 the layered composite material 20 ispresent, the device 6 has been raised above the inner chamber 16 b, andthe frame device 12 has lowered the conical frustum device 14 into theinner chamber 16 b. The conical frustum device 14 is driven by aspecified pressure in order to compress the different layers of combinedcomposite material 20 to a desired density. The conical frustum device14 rotates in the direction D5, driven by the blending drum 16 srotation in the direction D4. The motion of devices 14 and 16 occursuntil all the composite material 20 has been compressed to the desireddensity.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of part of the apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 during afourth stage. The components shown in FIG. 4 are in the same position inFIG. 5, except that in FIG. 5 the device 6 is lowered to a specifieddistance into the multiple layers of compressed composite material 20.The device 6 rotates in direction D3 while the blending drum 16 rotatesin direction D4. The rotation of device 6 and blending drum 16 causesthe different layers of compressed material 20 to be blended. As device6 travels through the layered compressed material 20 it breaks up thematerial into different sized fragments. The size of the fragments cansomewhat be controlled based on how fast device 6 and device 16 arerotating. The fragmented material is pushed by device 6 in randomdirections causing the orientation of the fragments to change. Themajority of fragments contains portions of every layer of compositematerial. This results in a random marbleized aesthetic similar tonatural stone. The rotation of devices 6, 14, and 16 can be controlledby means such as including a computer processor, computer memory,computer display, and computer interactive device, such as a computermouse and/or keyboard for allowing control of the rotation of devices 6and 16 by a user and/or computer.

FIG. 4 also shows a front view of part of the apparatus 1 in FIG. 1during a fifth stage. The components shown in FIG. 5 are in the sameposition in FIG. 4, except that in FIG. 4 the device 6 has been raisedout of the inner chamber 16 b, and the device 12 has lowered the conicalfrustum device 14 into the inner chamber 16 b in order to compress theblended layers of composite material 20 to a specific density. This stepis similar to the step shown in FIG. 4 except now the blended compositematerial 20 is being compressed again in order to further develop andmaintain the marbleized pattern within the composite material.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of part of the apparatus 1 of FIG. 1during a sixth stage. The components shown in FIG. 4 are in the sameposition in FIG. 6, except that in FIG. 6 frame device 12 has raised themajority of the conical frustum device 14 out of the inner chamber 16 b,plug device 10 has raised out of blending drum 16 and shovel device 8has been lowered so that the bottom of members 8 d and 8 e are levelwith the bottom 16 e of blending drum 16. Shovel device 8 moves indirection D6 towards exit hole 16 c, shown in FIG. 2, in order to pushthe blended compressed composite material 20 into the exit hole 16 c.The shovel device 8 is then raised above the blending drum 16 and movesin direction D7 to return to its original position. This movement isrepeated as the blending drum 16 rotates in direction D4 until all theblended compressed composite material 20 (not shown in FIG. 7) has beenemptied from blending drum 16 through the exit hole 16 c.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of an alternate apparatus 100 in whichdevices 12 and 14 of apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, have been replaced by apower hammer device 112. The device 112 includes a hydraulic cylinder112 a, a compression plate 112 b and a support beam 112 c. The powerhammer device 112 moves up and down in directions D8 and D9 to compressthe composite material 18 while blending drum 16 rotates in directionD4. The force with which the plate 112 b presses the composite material20 (not shown in FIG. 7) can be controlled in order to compress thematerial 20 to a desired density. The means for controlling the poundingforce of the power hammer device 112 and/or the power hammer device 112in general may include a computer processor, computer memory, computerdisplay, and computer interactive device, such as a computer mouseand/or keyboard for allowing control of the power hammer device 112 by auser and/or computer.

Referring to FIGS. 1-7, in operation each of delivery devices orchannels 2 and 4 feeds a different type of damp composite material (formaterial 20) into the inner chamber 16 b of the blending drum 16, whichcan vary based on a number of factors such as particle size or dyesused. The blending drum 16 is typically a cylindrical container with theopen top 16 a and the exit hole 16 c in the center of the bottom 16 e(however, exit hole 16 c can be located at any point on the bottom 16e). Prior to feeding composite material 20 into the blending drum 16,the device or cylindrical plug portion 10 b of device 10 is lowered overthe exit hole 16 c so no composite material 20 leaks out of the blendingdrum 16 during the following process. The blending drum 16 rotates inthe direction D4 and the channels or delivery devices 2 and/or 4 movealong the radius of the blending drum 16 as devices 2 and/or 4 feedmaterial while the multiple pronged stirring device 6 is lowered androtates in order to spread the composite material 20, resulting in aneven layer of material 20 in the blending drum 16. Based on the desireddesign aesthetic, multiple layers of different or alternating compositematerial 20 can be added to the blending drum 16 in this fashion fromdifferent feeder channels, such as channels or delivery devices 2 and 4.

In at least one embodiment, a conical frustum device 14 is used tocompress the layered composite material 20. The conical frustum 14 isaligned such that the surface of the conical frustum 14 or portion 14 bis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the blending drum 16. Theinner (of surface 14 a) and outer (of surface 14 c) diameter of theconical frustum 14 is specified based on each end's distance away fromthe axis of rotation of the blending drum 16 and the drum's radius. Thisallows for there to be no slip between the conical frustum and thecomposite material at any point of contact. In addition, the length, L1shown in FIG. 3, of the body portion 14 b (which is the distance fromthe surface 14 a to the surface 14 c) of the conical frustum 14 is setso that the smaller inner end (at surface 14 a) of the conical frustum14 is a set distance away from the center of the blending drum 16 andthe outer diameter (at surface 14 c) of the conical frustum 14 is a setdistance away from the outer wall 16 d of the blending drum 16. Thepressure that the conical frustum 14 exerts on the composite material 20can be driven by a variety of mechanisms (hydraulically, mechanically,electrically, etc) and the pressure can be adjusted. The multiplepronged stirring device 6 is then lowered into the inner chamber 16 b ofthe blending drum 16 at a specified distance away from the axis ofrotation of the blending drum 16. The stirring device 6 is lowered intothe layered composite material 20 and rotates at a specified speed inthe direction D3 shown in FIG. 3, while blending drum 16 rotates in thedirection D4, order to blend the compressed material 20. The rotationalspeed of the pronged device 6 determines to what degree the layers ofcomposite material 20 are blended. This action blends the layers ofdifferent composite material 20, creating random marbleization. Therotational speed of device 6 and 16 are used to determine the degree andsize of marbleization in the final product. In order to maintain thisspecific marbleized configuration within the composite material, thecomposite material 20 is compressed again by the conical frustum 14.After this process is complete, the plug 10 or portion 10 b is liftedand the compressed marbleized composite material 20 is pushed throughthe exit hole 16 c (shown in FIG. 2) in the center of the blending drum16 by shovel device 8 and is placed in a mold for further processing.

An alternate embodiment utilizes power hammer device 112 instead of theconical frustum 14 and frame 12. The process of distributing each layerof different composite material 20, compressing the composite material20, fragmenting and blending the compressed, layered composite material20 and compressing it again in order to maintain random marbleizedpattern within the compressed composite material remains the same.

The apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 and/or the apparatus 100 of FIG. 7 can be usedin the following basic overall method. In step one, the compositematerial 20 can be layered. In step two the layered composite materialcan be compressed, for example, by conical frustum device 14 or by powerhammer device 112. In step three, the device 6 may stir the compositematerial 20 to break the compressed layered composite material 20 intodifferent size fragments, at the same time these fragments are pushed,changing their orientation. Generally each fragment still contains aportion of each layer of composite material. The orientation of eachpiece may be randomly changed thereby. Step four may include compressingthe fragmented composite material 20 again, such as by conical frustumdevice 14 or power hammer device 12 to form a marbleized pattern withinthe composite material 20. The compression steps two and four can beachieved by a variety of mechanisms including but not limited to theconical frustum device 14 or power hammer device 112. The marbleizedcomposite material after the four step process may be sent for furtherprocessing to create quartz slabs.

Although the invention has been described by reference to particularillustrative embodiments thereof, many changes and modifications of theinvention may become apparent to those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is thereforeintended to include within this patent all such changes andmodifications as may reasonably and properly be included within thescope of the present invention's contribution to the art.

I claim:
 1. A method comprising the steps of: layering different typesof composite material to form a layered composite material; compressingthe layered composite material by pressure which is configured to beadjusted by computer control to form a layered compressed compositematerial; disrupting the layered compressed composite material so thatthe layered compressed composite material is broken to form randomlyre-oriented composite material fragments; and compressing the randomlyre-oriented composite material fragments after the step of disruptingthe layered compressed composite material has ceased; and wherein thestep of compressing the randomly re-oriented composite materialfragments is performed by motion of a rotating conical frustum devicewhich applies pressure to the randomly re-oriented material fragmentsand motion of a rotating open top compartment in which the randomlyre-oriented composite material fragments are located, wherein the motionof the rotating conical frustum device and the motion of the rotatingopen top compartment continues until all of the composite material ofthe randomly re-oriented composite material fragments have beencompressed to a desired density.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein thematerial is layered in an inner chamber of an open top compartment toform the layered composite material; and wherein the layered compositematerial is compressed in the inner chamber of the open top compartmentto form the layered compressed composite material.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein at least one of the different types of compositematerial is a damp particulate composite material.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein at least one of the different types of compositematerial is a damp particulate composite material.
 5. The method ofclaim 2 wherein at least one of the different types of compositematerial is a damp particulate composite material.
 6. The method ofclaim 1 wherein each of the different types of composite material aredeposited at a top of an open top compartment to layer the differenttypes of composite material to form the layered composite material. 7.The method of claim 1 wherein each of the different types of compositematerial are deposited at a top of the open top compartment to layer thedifferent types of composite material to form the layered compositematerial.
 8. The method of claim 2 wherein each of the different typesof composite material are deposited at a top of the open top compartmentto layer the different types of composite material to form the layeredcomposite material.
 9. The method of claim 3 wherein each of thedifferent types of composite material are deposited at a top of an opentop compartment to layer the different types of composite material toform the layered composite material.
 10. The method of claim 4 whereineach of the different types of composite material are deposited at a topof an open top compartment to layer the different types of compositematerial to form the layered composite material.
 11. The method of claim5 wherein each of the different types of composite material aredeposited at a top of the open top compartment to layer the differenttypes of composite material to form the layered composite material. 12.The method of claim 2 wherein the open top compartment is a drum. 13.The method of claim 2 wherein the open top compartment is configured torotate while the layered composite material is compressed to form alayered compressed composite material.
 14. The method of claim 12wherein the drum is configured to rotate while the layered compositematerial is compressed to form a layered compressed composite material.15. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of compressing the layeredcomposite material is applied by a device driven by a specified pressureto compress the layered composite material to a desired density.
 16. Themethod of claim 15 wherein the device driven by the specified pressureis a conical frustum.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the devicedriven by the specified pressure is driven by a mechanism under computercontrol to control the specified pressure.
 18. A method comprising thesteps of: layering different types of composite material to form alayered composite material in an open top compartment, wherein each ofthe different types of composite material is layered by depositing eachof the different types of material while being stirred resulting in aneven layer of each of the different types of composite material, andmultiple level layers of different composite material in the open topcompartment; compressing the layered composite material to form alayered compressed composite material; disrupting the layered compressedcomposite material so that the layered compressed composite material isbroken to form randomly re-oriented composite material fragments; andcompressing the randomly re-oriented composite material fragments afterthe step of disrupting the layered compressed composite material hasceased.